BRAND NEW to gardening with questions!

[GeorgiaTiger]

I have a few questions if you don't mind. My gardening experience is practically nil, but i really want to start and to learn as much as I can.

Just FYI, I am in Georgia near Atlanta...just so you know the weather, etc here. What can I plant right now that will produce before winter comes? My MIL says tomatoes if I put plants down. What else can I plant? some things that I love to eat are cabbage, peppers (sweet and spicy), collards, Squash, okra, corn, and especially tomatoes. Im wanting to start a garden asap and it will be small (maybe 20'x20') so I can handle it for a first one.

Another problem I am having with my yard that will relate to the garden. My In Laws used to live in this house and we are buying from them. They always had a garden that covered the whole back yard. Fil says they had all of what I mentioned above and more. The problem is, there hasn't been a garden back there in a few years and there is an over run of what he calls Mole Beans. He says that they need to pulled up by the roots, but there are a TON of them back there. Anyone ever heard of this and how to get rid of it?

Thanks in advance for replies...

[applestar]

I think what you have are castor bean plants.
This thread has a lot of informative links:
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... hp?p=23035

Some more discussions about castor beans:
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... p?p=243355

[GeorgiaTiger]

I guess I'm just wondering how to get rid of it so it doesn't come back.

[Bobberman]

Castor beans like most beans put nitrogen into the soil with their roots.. Why not mow them down and till the roots under!

[gixxerific]

If it is castor beans they are bad, as in deadly bad.

Check out this link. Read the whole thing but the suggestions for getting rid of it are at the bottom.
http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/ip ... er=182.php

[Bobberman]

I see that the castor bean is not a true bean so maybe the nitrogen is no on the root. I needed to know more about this bean and found this great link with tons of interesing info. There is a chemical in castor beans that is one of the deadlist poisons in the world 100,s of times more deadly that snake poisonwhen taken in larger pure amounts! This is great reading!
+++

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plmar99.htm

[GeorgiaTiger]

What can I plant right now that will produce before winter comes? My MIL says tomatoes if I put plants down. What else can I plant? some things that I love to eat are cabbage, peppers (sweet and spicy), collards, Squash, okra, corn, and especially tomatoes. Im wanting to start a garden asap and it will be small (maybe 20'x20') so I can handle it for a first one.

[applestar]

I would prefer to let people from your area answer this because I don't have an accurate sense of how hot it gets where you are. But if I were to guess, I think you may be able to sow okra and squash if you can keep the seedbed watered until they can grow deep enough roots. The seeds should be sown deeper -- I would guess at least 1" deep for okra and 2" deep for squash and you should step on where you sowed the seeds so they make good soil contact.

I think you should also be able to sow southern peas like pinkeye purple hull, butterpea and blackeye. Asparagus beans are also said to be heat tolerant and have been recommended by southern state members.

My understanding is that it gets too hot for tomatoes and peppers during the height of the summer heat but you can plant started plants a little later for fall harvest until frost.

I hope someone will pitch in and give you a more definitive answer.

[GeorgiaTiger]

I would prefer to let people from your area answer this because I don't have an accurate sense of how hot it gets where you are.

Well, it is Georgia, and it is hot. Our average temp from here on out will be 90-95 but also humid (not sure if that matters).

[applestar]

mmm... I meant in terms of how it affects the garden. But yeah, we just had a temporary heat wave with those numbers.